The Relative Truth
by LanieSullivan
Summary: Lee is faced with the cold, hard truth about his mystery marriage from another party, leading him to re-evaluate his role as a family man. One-shot. Complete.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

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At three AM, Lee Stetson dragged himself wearily into his apartment after a long night at the British embassy where he and Amanda has been working security. He haphazardly lobbed his keys toward the direction of the entry table, swearing when he missed his mark. "Damn it!' He heaved a great sigh and bent to retrieve them, slamming them onto the table and growling at them as if they could respond, "Stay put!"

An amused chuckle from his living room caught his attention and he turned quickly to see who the intruder in his home was. "I don't think they can disobey you," Colonel Robert Clayton said dryly.

Lee glared at his uncle, rolled his eyes, gestured to the drink in the colonel's hand and said, "I see you made yourself at home." He then stripped off the jacket of his tuxedo, draped it over the back of the sofa, and then proceeded to loosen his bowtie.

"And I see some things haven't changed even though you're a married man now," the colonel fired back gesturing to the lipstick smear on Lee's shirt collar.

"Relax, would ya', "Lee snapped impatiently as he tossed his tie aside, "It's Amanda's." He then walked to the bar, deciding that if he was going to have to put up with his uncle in the middle of the night, he needed a good stiff drink.

Robert followed his nephew to the bar, watching as Lee poured himself a double and took a good healthy swig of it. "I suppose that's good, at least," he replied, but his tone said differently.

Lee turned and fixed his uncle with a scowl, saying, "What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?"

"What? I just meant that it's good that it's not another woman's lipstick you're wearing."

Lee shook his head as he leaned against the bar and grumbled, "I guess some things never change. You still always want to believe the worst of me. Do you really think I'd do that to her?"

"I don't know what to think," The colonel answered with a shrug as he sipped at his drink. "It's not as though you've made a real commitment to her."

Lee scowled at his uncle and questioned, "No real commitment? As you just pointed out, I'm a married man now. It doesn't get more committed than that." He then pushed himself off the bar, retrieved his discarded jacket and tie. He was about to retreat to his bedroom when his uncle's stern, disapproving voice stopped him.

"Married? You're not married, Son," Bob scoffed.

Lee whipped around, flung his clothes aside and countered, "Oh no? I beg to differ. I've got some paperwork in my safe I could show you that proves otherwise."

"That's just paperwork," Bob retorted. "You don't have anything remotely resembling a real marriage."

"What the hell would you know about it? You've been a bachelor your whole damn life," Lee snapped angrily, his patience with his uncle wearing thin.

"So have you and in reality, you still are. I mean, you may not be seeing anyone else except Amanda, but the way that you're living is no better than when you had a different date every night. You're not really married if you're not a real husband to her. Amanda is a lovely woman who deserves better than to be treated as just your flavor of the week."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Lee asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"You knew I was coming for a visit," Bob replied.

"No, I didn't. I haven't spoken to you in more than a month."

"No, because you're never home when I call, but I must have left you at least a dozen messages in the past two weeks telling you when I'd be in town."

"Ahh," Lee nodded. "The machine's been broken for the past three weeks. It'll let people leave messages, but I can't listen to them. I've been meaning to get that fixed, but-"

"Just like you _meant_ to marry Amanda?" The colonel cut in. He was unwilling to let the subject go until he could make his wayward nephew listen to reason.

"Let's get this straight once and for all. I _did_ marry Amanda!"

"Maybe on paper-"

"No, in reality, Amanda is my wife!"

"Your wife, is she?" He nodded toward Lee's bare left hand that held his cocktail. "Then where's your ring? For that matter, where's your wife?"

"She's at home. She had to go home to be there for the boys in the morning. They're having a sleepover tomorrow night that she has to get ready for."

"Isn't that something you should be helping her with, helping your stepchildren with? You have a duty to those children, you know. When you married Amanda, you took on a responsibility, not just to her, but to those boys as well," the colonel berated him.

"Don't you think I know that?" Lee snapped. "I spend a lot of time with the boys. In fact, I've been busting my ass trying to get to know them, do stuff with them-"

"Humph!" Bob looked at him disbelievingly. "I see. So, when was the last time you helped them with their homework, or tended to them when they were sick or attended a parent-teacher conference?"

"I-" Lee broke off at the realization that his uncle was right. He'd never done any of those things with Phillip and Jamie.

"That's what I thought," Bob crowed triumphantly. "You're not living up to your duty to them as their stepfather and you know it."

"Look, I am living up to my duty to them. It's my duty to protect them, to keep them safe and that's why Amanda and I chose to live the way that we do, to keep them out of the business we work in. We were afraid-"

"I know exactly what you were afraid of," Bob interrupted again as he took another swig of his drink, "And it wasn't keeping your enemies from harming them. If that were the case, you'd be there with them now. They'd be a lot safer with you there than without you. Suppose someone attacked the house right now? Who'd protect them? You're not there and you live too far away to get there in time if something happened. You're leaving the responsibility all on Amanda to care for and protect the children, just like her ex-husband did."

"Don't you dare compare me to Joe King!" Lee shouted. "I am _nothing_ like him!"

"Then why aren't you there with your wife and children now? Why are you here in your swinging bachelor pad, instead of with your family?"

"You don't understand-"

"I understand more than you know. You're worried about the danger your boys might be in and that's a completely understandable fear. I had the same fear for you when you were growing up, that just because your parents were dead, that wouldn't stop one of their many enemies from coming after you for revenge on them. Why do you think I requested transfers so often when you were growing up? I wanted to keep us on the move, make it that much harder for anyone to track you down. Why do you think I never married or even got involved and a serious relationship? I knew that settling down into a normal household routine had the potential to make you an easier target."

"What you said just makes no sense with your lecture," Lee responded. "You're bitching at me for not being with my family, but you just said-"

"The difference is that those boys are already settled and you already have a wife, one who's pretty adept at getting out of trouble, but how adept would she be if she were thinking about protecting the boys by herself? Don't you think that might distract her a bit, but if you were there to help her...Isn't that what your partnership...what _marriage_ is all about?"

Having no reply, Lee downed the rest of his drink, slammed the empty glass onto the bar, stormed to the hall closet, returned with a blanket and pillow, thrust them at his uncle and said, "Here!" He then once again picked up his tossed-aside clothing. "I've had enough of this conversation!" He then stomped to his bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

Bob stared after him for a moment shaking his head. He finished his own drink, set the glass down and began to make up the couch, hoping against hope that his words had made an impression.

Lee silently stewed as he got undressed for bed. He heaved another deep sigh as he sat down on the bed to remove his shoes and socks, his wife's scent on the pillow beside him assailing his nostrils, his uncle's words about fear of commitment and of taking responsibility for his family haunting him. He picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed her number. "Hi," he said warmly as she answered the phone. "I just wanted to make sure you got home safely and tell you that I love you." He paused as he listened to Amanda's warm, raspy voice, "Listen, Amanda, maybe I could help you with the kids tomorrow, you know since you're going to have your hands full..."


End file.
